Tip: make your kid signup for an optional trio just before orientation.
Sure, maybe they won’t want to leave summer early but makes for an amazingly smooth adjustment.

Esp good for slightly introverted kids

St Olaf

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Based on experience, which schools do a great, decent, or lousy job of helping freshmen transition into college - socially and academically?

I will start. I was unimpressed with Syracuse three years ago. The dorms had no sense of camaraderie and the advising was not great - kid was put into the wrong level of math class, for example.

Now that my next kid is starting the college search process, I am more focused on this aspect of college.

Could you elaborate on what you think the schools should be doing? Where are some of the dividing lines between what the school should be doing and what incoming students should be doing?

Socially - I think there should be fun activities in the dorms. Academically - meeting with advisors.

We toured Franklin and Marshall and they touted their first year living experiences where the freshmen were also in a fun class with people on their floor. At my school a million years ago, there was a two day outdoor retreat and a 2 day classroom kind of thing. Just all ways for people to get to know each other.

UMW does this too and I think it's a good approach.

Cal Poly SLO has a great welcome week program

I thought VT's was weak, but my kid started during COVID so I don't know if that's true all the time

Anonymous wrote:Grinnell did a very nice job. I’d look at length of orientation as one clue. Grinnell had a full week.

Plus a first semester seminar with about 12 students and the professor is your advisor until declaring a major. Provided social and academic support beyond the first week.

Grinnell did a very nice job. I’d look at length of orientation as one clue. Grinnell had a full week.

Another vote for Rice. I have additional kids who have gone to other schools and lots of friends' kids who have attended other schools and so far none compare to how Rice handles orientation and advising for freshmen. Rice really puts a lot of effort into their students.

W&M was pretty good, preorientation trip (not mandatory) and then a very busy 4 day orientation with the dorm floor. My critique is that orientation is almost too much - my kid was fine but I think it was almost too much in one sitting and then there wasn’t too much integration after that point.

I’d like to see the kids in cohorts that do things throughout the first semester or something.

Access to advising and other resources has been good (although it dues require some student initiative) and small class size is fantastic and makes it easier to connect with professors.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Both GMU and UVA did a great job for my kids

I thought UVA was terrible. They have summer orientation and while the programming was outstanding for parents (the sessions are really well done and informative), only a few kids actually meet anyone because they're on campus with 1/10th of the freshman class for 2 days in June or July. Then they show up in late August and have to meet everyone on their own. Compared to my sophomore who went to a school where they had a 5 day orientation at the beginning of the year it was terrible for meeting friends.

What year what this? We had a very different experience so maybe it has improved since your child attended?

2025

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Both GMU and UVA did a great job for my kids

I'll second UVA. DC had an amazing first-year experience - due to both a great RA who planned activities so the residents would get to know each other, and also special programs planned by the university. They also made an effort to get involved in clubs and organizations early, which was very helpful.

huh. My kid's RA did nothing and I really don't know what special programs the university planned at the beginning of the year outside of the convocation and club fair and a concert --but they were all large events where my kid was lost in the crowd. My very social kid (who historically had a large group of friends) really struggled as did many other kids she knows. Some are still struggling.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Both GMU and UVA did a great job for my kids

I thought UVA was terrible. They have summer orientation and while the programming was outstanding for parents (the sessions are really well done and informative), only a few kids actually meet anyone because they're on campus with 1/10th of the freshman class for 2 days in June or July. Then they show up in late August and have to meet everyone on their own. Compared to my sophomore who went to a school where they had a 5 day orientation at the beginning of the year it was terrible for meeting friends.

What year what this? We had a very different experience so maybe it has improved since your child attended?

U of South Carolina has a very well known freshman transition program. Other schools come and study it to try to replicate it. https://sc.edu/experience/university-101/

Anonymous wrote:Most schools will have activities for the students. They aren’t mandatory so your student will have put his phone down and leave the room.

10 years ago, I attended a parent orientation and a mother asked if the RA noticed her kid wasn’t leaving the room, would they stop by to encourage him to participate in activities? Yikes, the poor moderator had to set this parent straight.

DC is an RA this year and part of the training is reinforcing they should NEVER give their phone numbers to residents' parents. One parent asked my DC if they could call them if their student slept through their alarm - guess they were tracking to see if their child made it to class? DC politely and firmly reminded them it was against policy.

Anonymous wrote:Both GMU and UVA did a great job for my kids

I thought UVA was terrible. They have summer orientation and while the programming was outstanding for parents (the sessions are really well done and informative), only a few kids actually meet anyone because they're on campus with 1/10th of the freshman class for 2 days in June or July. Then they show up in late August and have to meet everyone on their own. Compared to my sophomore who went to a school where they had a 5 day orientation at the beginning of the year it was terrible for meeting friends.

Anonymous wrote:Both GMU and UVA did a great job for my kids

I'll second UVA. DC had an amazing first-year experience - due to both a great RA who planned activities so the residents would get to know each other, and also special programs planned by the university. They also made an effort to get involved in clubs and organizations early, which was very helpful.

Surprisingly, many very large schools are excellent in this area.